General Comments:

Eg my parents' 1990 Ford Laser (Australia, Mazda based) had 280000 Km (180000Miles) on it when they sold it (owned from new) and it wasn't as worn in areas such as gearshift, suspension, or brakes.

The ride is very comfortable and it cruises remarkable well at 80mph for a 1.3 but takes a while to get up to speed, which can be a little dangerous at times (my previous cars were quite powerful by comparison).

Rust also seems to be an issue, but that may be caused by the local environment.

1993 Ford Escort CLX 1.8i from Netherlands

Summary:

Faults:

Acceleration problems at some point resulting in an almost un-drivable car.

Tired wear out quicker than expected (but this could also be my because of my driving style).

General Comments:

Apart from above described problems, I never had any problems with it despite its age.

The car drives very good. Very fast acceleration, comfortable seats and drives really stable (although very noisy) at high speed. In Germany I could cope with the 190+ km/h driving BMW's without problems. :-)

The car handling makes me feel safe in it, even at high speed.

One little 'problem': 3 people on the backseat makes the back too heavy to be able to drive over heavy bumps.

General Comments:

It's a bit of a shame about the lager lout image because this is truly one of the most capable fast road cars money can buy.

The chassis is fantastic. I recently drove a friends Impreza WRX, and although it's a bit quicker off the line, and a very impressive car in its own right (the incredible engine especially) the Cossie is definitely the more fun of the two. The age difference shows in terms of refinement and outright grip, but jumping back in the Escort immediately stuck a smile on my face.

The 4WD system is superb, having a significant rearward bias on the torque split. This gives fantastic handling, with just enough RWD "tail happiness" to help the car turn, but enough FWD stability to pull it straight again. It also doesn't do weird things with its centre differential mid-bend like the Impreza sometimes does, meaning you can predict exactly what the car is going to do. The Cosworth's steering is also way superior in terms of weighting and feel. I suspect the WRX would cover a twisty road a bit quicker (it would be close), but the Cossie is the one that will give the biggest laughs and involve the driver more.

I've resisted the temptation to modify the car, which is paying dividends as the miles roll on. The Cosworth YB engine is very strong, and was significantly detuned to get the 227 bhp figure, which means big power increases can be had for just a few hundred pounds. Resisting this means that even with 85,000 miles on it, the engine uses barely half a litre of oil between services, always starts in the mornings, and the transmission is still slick and quiet. And yes, the car is driven hard, although for the turbo's sake, it is never thrashed from cold, always allowed to idle after a run, and is treated to fresh synthetic oil mid way between the standard services. The car as a whole feels tight, smooth and "together", and there is nothing to suggest it won't stay that way until well into a six figure mileage.

I absolutely adore this car. It's fast, reliable, practical (seats four in reasonable comfort and has a decent boot), looks outrageous and offers a driving experience that to my mind has still not been bettered as far as affordable performance cars go. In Lux spec, it's also well equipped, with a CD autochanger, air conditioning, leather Recaro seats, electric windows and mirrors.

Insurance is a bit of a killer, as is the fuel consumption at times (I get between 15 and 27 miles out of a gallon of Super Unleaded), but the car has so much soul and ability that I cough up and live with it. I cannot recommend these cars highly enough. Just get an insurance quote first, and keep it locked up!

27th Feb 2003, 14:35

24th Jun 2003, 08:38

It's a big turbo (with the blue cam cover). To be honest I would expect at least 100,000 miles from a turbo on any engine if it has been treated sympathetically. Most turbo failure before this kind of mileage is purely down to abuse or neglect, namely:

Missed or late oil changes

Use of insufficient quality engine oil which cannot cope with operating conditions in the turbo (>800 deg C for example).

High turbo RPM (i.e. hard driving) before the engine oil is warm and the oil has circulated properly around the bearings.

And the biggest killer of all - not letting the engine idle for a minute or two before switching off.

Different car I know, but I know someone who got 170,000 miles out of the original turbo on his Escort RS Turbo.

23rd May 2006, 13:29

Yeah I totally agree. If you take care of a car and its components there is no reason it should not last far longer than expected. My Series 2 Escort Turbo was still using the original Turbo and that had done 133,000 miles also the engine was still going well when I sold it. It had a fully stamped history book and never missed a service.

16th Aug 2007, 13:06

From someone who owns a Honda Integra Type R JDM spec, I recently had the opportunity to race an Escort Cosworth along a lovely stretch of B road as there are 2 in my area. He started in front (I prefer it that way), gave it his all, and I was never more than 1 car length behind him, and I actually had more grip in the corners (had to let go of the throttle to stop me from going up the back of him), and I could out brake him too.Wwas a good little race, but the Teg was definitely the faster car to be in. Might have been different outcome if the road was wet.